I’ve had several opportunities to judge food competitions in recent years, and I’ve turned them down since going gluten-free. I didn’t want to risk bloating and bleh. But when the amazing Holly Heer of AHA offered, I was NOT going to say no. I’d figure it out.

The panel of 12 included excellent chefs such as Jason Godwin (now at Alltel) and Donnie Ferneau (formerly of Ferneau/Rocket 21, now consulting and preparing for his own new place), esteemed writers such as Kelley Bass (formerly of the Arkansas Gazette, Dem-Gaz and Arkansas Times), and industry giants such as Bob Coleman (retired from Coleman, now Hiland Dairy). What the heck was I doing here?

That’s me in the silly hot pink chef coat, waiting with the other judges before the event.

We chose what category we would judge. I figured, rightly, that entrees would be the least glutenous. Good call. But would I know enough to properly judge the hard work these chefs had put in? I knew they were sweating behind those black curtains, wondering if we would taste and appreciate everything they had done. This was a big deal for them, I knew.

Judges at the appetizer course table.

As the entrees started to come out, I slowly started to realize that I may know a thing or two after all. My fellow judges and I discussed some of the hits and misses of each dish. Because of my excellent education at Pulaski Tech (and probably a good bit from Good Eats and my own experience), I was able to describe the tiny “just off” things the other judges and I noticed in these otherwise spectacular dishes: A dish that was smoked but maybe should have been braised. A piece of beef that would have benefited from a different cutting method. An overcooked fond that created a slightly bitter pan sauce.

I should clarify that these were minor errors of technique, mere landing hops in the culinary olympiad that separated the winners from the others. I want all the participants in the Culinary Classic to know that this was a very hard job, one that we all took seriously. Each dish was stellar and a joyous representation of the culinary talent in our state.

But I came away more confident, knowing that I knew good technique when I saw it. Some kind words from Chef Ferneau also bolstered my confidence, as he encouraged me to enter the contest myself one day. We’ll see.

I was so full. And then I attended the public event and tasted all the other categories’ offerings. (In a few days, I’ll review three of my favorite plates that were not among those I judged.)

Yum.

JUDGING AND ENTREE PHOTOS
NOTE: I did not know who made each dish until after judging.

I’m coming at you on the heels of the awesome Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged 2013 conference at the lovely Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center, right here in Little Rock. As usual, it was tremendously inspiring and the community was great (despite my tendency toward introversion). Even more so, everything was very timely, as I’m wrapping up some big changes here at Fancy Pants Foodie.

I’ll esplain that soon enough. For now, I’ll tell you about Foodie Friday, the early-bird section of the conference just for us foodies.

The first speaker was Little Rock chef Donnie Ferneau.

Ah, Donnie. He’s so pretty. (You know, in a manly sort of way.) Talented, too. Known to be a bit of a renegade in the pro community, he brought some edgy authority to the Foodie Friday portion of the conference.

The home cooks in the crowd (as well as Benton area chef Liz Bray) gasped when he suggested cooking most everything in the oven at 500 degrees. “I bake brownies at 350,” he said. “Everything else gets blasted at 500.”

He offered these additional tips to home cooks:

Save money by buying produce in season. Take notice of when certain things are cheap because they are plentiful, especially things like cherries that have a very short harvest.
.

Make accommodation friendly. If you’re serving a group of people who have a mix of special dietary needs (gluten free, vegetarian, etc.), prepare a single dish that will accommodate everyone when possible. It makes everyone feel special and well-served without singling anyone out.
.

Let meat rest after cooking. He said this is the biggest mistake people make in cooking meats, cutting into them too soon. Resting allows juices to redistribute and settle into the meat.
.

Save money on cuts like ribeyes by buying a rib roast and cutting it yourself. Which leads to the most important thing…
.

Work on your knife skills. He mentioned the food blogger movie Julie and Julia, in which both title characters mercilessly practiced knife skills with bags of produce. And to do this, you need to…
.

Find a proper chef’s knife that feels good to you, and use it. This doesn’t have to be expensive. He said he often reaches for a $20 safety knife over his more costly models.

After his departure from his namesake Ferneau (later Rocket 21), Donnie has focused on freelancing with a vengeance while he waited for the next big thing. He’s spent quite a bit of time volunteering for my favorite food nonprofit, Share Our Strength, and he’s taught cooking classes in partnership with fellow blogger Thanh Raisco of Red Kitchen Recipes. Lately, he’s been busy as a consultant for Cellar 220, which used to be Italian Kitchen, which used to be Lulav, while his own new restaurant comes together.

Repeating his well-reported disdain for adult macaroni and cheese, he said his upcoming restaurant will be “only the kind of stuff that I like.” He described creating elaborate, creative dishes at Ferneau, only to get order after order of macaroni and cheese with fried chicken, what he called “kids’ plates.” The new place will just be what he wants to make, all the time.

Oh, and tilapia. There will be NO tilapia, ever.

“I’m gonna cook with my palate and only make the food I want to eat,” he said.

He also described the upcoming restaurant as nothing like anything Little Rock currently has or has even thought about, calling it “the restaurant we don’t know we need yet.”

All that said, Donnie’s a good friend to the food community. If your palate doesn’t match his (and, by golly, that’s all he’s gonna have at the new place), he’ll be glad to teach you how to cook for yourself at home.

Tuesday night, Governor Mike Beebe told a sold-out crowd at the Oxford American headquarters that Arkansas has become a success “poster child” for the No Kid Hungry program of Share Our Strength, the nonprofit group working to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. And based on the results of the event, raising over $30 thousand with a night of spectacular culinary achievement, I am not at all surprised.

Share Our Strength is holding other No Kid Hungry Dinners across the country to raise funds for their worthy programs, including the Cooking Matters program I had the privilege to teach this summer. The secondary purpose, however, is to create a buzz, getting folks together who love to cook, love to eat and love to make sure our kids have the opportunity to do both.

Behind the scenes was an absolute hoot. The best thing about being one of those up-and-coming culinary types is being able to schlep into these things as extra hands, learning from everyone there. I was able to help plate dishes, wipe other dishes down (the rental company didn’t send them all clean!), even deliver dishes to the waiting crowd of about 120 guests.

I absolutely loved watching the chefs prepare their dishes. Each chef, from the locals to the guest chefs, had something extraordinary to offer. As I watched Vigneron finish his plates of pea soup with peas, salmon, beets, beet ice cream and a beet chip, I was astounded by the level of mastery. And, honestly, at that point in the evening I hadn’t even realized why he looked so darn familiar! (I’ll tell you this: His jerk persona on Top Chef was all editing. He’s a doll.)

The other chefs all brought their own passions, as well. Currence was especially passionate about the Cooking Matters program, telling me about the Chefs Move to Schools kickoff event he helped cook for at the White House earlier this year. He said it was essential that we work to get kids excited about healthy cooking, just as previous generations of kids were the family catalysts for litter control and recycling.

Our own local chefs created amazing dishes, as well. Owen’s cocktail-hour appetizers reflected the precision and depth of flavor that embodies the Capitol Hotel. Deloney presented the first course, a “muffaletta” napoleon of heirloom tomatoes, showcasing the beauty of fresh, seasonal ingredients. Newcomer Kelli Marks astounded the seasoned veterans with her light, perfectly balanced cheesecakes. (Vigneron loved them.) And without credit on the program, former Argenta Market chef Shane Henderson, now with Ben E. Keith, prepared beautiful vegetarian entrees on the fly for those who requested them.

Before the event even got rolling, the former-PR-person in me had to go work the crowd during cocktail hour. Turns out I walked by just as P. Allen Smith was walking in, as he was one of the guest speakers for the event. Bless his heart, the awesome ladies who came in from Share Our Strength in Washington, D.C. didn’t know who he was! I helped them all alleviate the situation without anybody getting embarrassed. My reward: Soiree and the Dem-Gaz snapping photos of me with said Mr. Smith. The white coat, they love it, even if I’m a nobody.

I may write a separate post about just hanging out with these awesome folks all evening. It’s a story unto itself. But, for now, enjoy these photos knowing that we’re this much closer to No Kid Hungry in Arkansas.

As I’ve said before, my firsthand experience with Share Our Strength through its Cooking Matters program has given me a little bit of insight as to just how powerful their work is. I hope you’ll join us.

Now, the really fun part. I offered a while back to help with this dinner, maybe plating or otherwise helping with the cooking and prep process. In events past, this has given me a great opportunity to get some food practice and also live-blog events (such as Chef Ball) from behind the scenes.

I just found out that I’ll need to be really flexible tonight, maybe even waiting tables. Lemme just tell ya, this is not my forte. I did it (and actually quite enjoyed it) at my recent stage at Caribe, but that was a casual restaurant, not a formal fundraiser thing. This could get interesting!

I could get into that horrible story that I never even could bring myself to blog about in Food Production IV where things went terribly wrong, that day I was front of house, and most of it wasn’t even my fault. But I won’t. I’ll just do my best and help however I can to keep kids in Arkansas from having to go hungry.

P.S. Follow me tonight on the Twitters at @ARFoodie for any live tweeting I might be able to squeak out. If I’m on the floor, don’t expect much. More photos and such to follow here, after the event.

P.P.S. I just found out that P. Allen Smith will be there! Does that dude follow me around or what?

As is often the case with such things, I think I’ve gotten more out of it than the students have. But that’s not to say they aren’t learning, too. Each week, several participants have a “eureka” moment when they realize they like brown rice, they like the taste of foods with less salt, or they actually enjoy broccoli.

Cooking Matters is fairly new in Arkansas, only having had a few classes over the past two years as they geared up through the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance. Mine is the first to use the “Families” curriculum, meaning we have kids and adults cooking and learning together. Now, local coordinators are seeking out new locations and instructors to place classes all over the state.

Each week, we get settled into our “kitchen” (some classes are taught in an actual kitchen, while others, like this one, are done in a meeting room) and begin with a lesson from a nutritionist. (Last week’s demonstrated the amount of fat in a fast-food meal by putting equivalent amounts of Crisco on a bun. Several haven’t had fast food since!) Then, we review topics such as knife skills, food safety or the like, and then we go over the recipe for the day.

Then it gets crazy! The room buzzes with the happy madness of several families cooking at once. I demonstrate each step from my station, and then sometimes walk around to help the students complete it. When we’re done, we all gather together at a large table, demonstrating the importance of eating together as a family. Here, we try each others’ dishes, talk about the lesson, laugh, learn from each others’ lives. Then I close with a challenge for the next week, such as choosing healthy ingredients or limiting fast food.

I’m writing this now to tell you how you can help. I’ve seen firsthand how lives are changed. Not only do I hope the program becomes funded for expansion, I want you to feel the happiness of knowing you’ve changed lives for the better — with cooking.

On Tuesday, July 31, Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign is holding a fundraiser event at The Oxford American that is a must-attend. The funds will stay in the state to fund Cooking Matters, as well as to help increase participation in existing programs such as WIC, SNAP and summer feeding programs. (For more info on why, read this; many hungry Arkansas kids don’t take advantage of the help that’s available.)

I seriously hope you’ll take action today to make sure you’ll be there. Tickets are $150 each, with table sponsorships available for $1,500. Ask your employer to participate, especially if you’re in the food industry.

The No Kid Hungry Dinner will be hosted by Chef Donnie Ferneau (Rocket 21) and will showcase the talents of some of Little Rock’s best chefs, including Brian DeLoney (Maddie’s Place) and Kelli Marks (Sweet Love), as well as visiting chefs John Currence (City Grocery, Oxford, MS) and Marcel Vigneron (Modern Global Tasting Inc., Los Angeles, CA).

You can buy tickets online or get more information about the event here.

P.S. Chef Donnie Ferneau has approved my schlepping in the kitchen for the event, so I’ll be live-blogging (or after-the-fact blogging, depending on how busy he keeps me) the whole thing, from the perspective of the chefs! Stay tuned.